PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
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Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#2Note that this applies to biology PhD. Isn't a solution to reduce the amount of fellowship offered and increase the stipend. This would reduce the amount of publications, but potentially increase the average "quality" if more money means that students won't have to look for money on the side, and also if there is a more careful selection of the candidates.
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#3Almost as if the STEM shortage wasn't a shortage in the first place hm..
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#4So do vast swathes of Americans.
Pop quiz: In what countries does it cost a full day's wages or more to fill a car's gas tank?
US minimum wage is $7.25/hr. As of this writing, US gas prices average $4.71/gal. For a typical car the gas tank holds about 15 gallons. Even a small car would have a 12 gallon tank.
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#5I think the PhD is overrated, and along with that I think a lot of university education is overrated; note this is someone with two BA's and a Masters. Unless you're teaching, or doing some hard core research, I don't see that the PhD is necessary or even a good investment. That time could have been spent gaining experience, which IMHO, is extremely valuable.
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#6So do vast swathes of Americans. Pop quiz: In what countries does it cost a full day's wages or more to fill a car's gas tank? US minimum wage is $7.25/hr. As of this writing, US gas prices average $4.71/gal. For a typical car the gas tank holds about 15 gallons. Even a small car would have a 12 gallon tank.
> In what countries does it cost a full day's wages or more to fill a car's gas tank?
Most countries.
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#7It's a bit of a shame that the US doesn't really allow part time PhDs (at least not in any of the schools that I asked). If they did, conceivably a lot of these students could get a relatively well-paying job in engineering or a lab or something, and as such the schools could get away with paying less. Part of the reason that I didn't bother trying to pursue the CUNY PhD in mathematics was specifically because the stipend they were offering wouldn't be enough to cover my mortgage (~$2,000/month), and they didn't offer any kind of part-time plan.
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#8So do vast swathes of Americans. Pop quiz: In what countries does it cost a full day's wages or more to fill a car's gas tank? US minimum wage is $7.25/hr. As of this writing, US gas prices average $4.71/gal. For a typical car the gas tank holds about 15 gallons. Even a small car would have a 12 gallon tank.
Pretty much every other country in the world. Europe pays $8/gal or more depending.
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#9So do vast swathes of Americans. Pop quiz: In what countries does it cost a full day's wages or more to fill a car's gas tank? US minimum wage is $7.25/hr. As of this writing, US gas prices average $4.71/gal. For a typical car the gas tank holds about 15 gallons. Even a small car would have a 12 gallon tank.
Usual caveat that no one actually makes minimum wage
Re: PhD students face cash crisis with wages that don’t cover living costs
#10Newsflash: "Not having a profitable job well into your 30s leaves you poor, study finds"